Orb Of Generation
by avidfan
Summary: Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts is the keeper of an extreemly powerful object that in time, if he is not careful will make him 17 again. And just like before, he'll find that he is in the hearts of many female students, especially one Hermione.
1. Orb of Generation

**The Orb of Generation**

i know that this is very short, but it will be longer

"Well Albus I must congratulate you on becoming the headmaster of Hogwarts, I must say that I knew from the moment that you walked through those doors in your first year that you would do admirable things with your life, and I am proud of you my boy." Praised the old Headmaster Dippit as he watched Albus from the fireplace.

Albus smiled at him, feeling a little embarrassed about the complements, and out of place in the headmasters chair. "I have you to thank for the man that I have become Armando, if it wasn't for you I would never of gotten the position as Headmaster or defeated Grindelwald without your encouragement".

Armando smiled up at him and then his face turned serious. "Albus before I go, now that you are headmaster I would like to give something to you that I have kept but now must give away for reasons of my health" Starring at Armando confused Albus watched as he lifted up a fragment of the floor and retrieved a box. Curious as to what it was, Albus moved forward. "Do you know what this is Albus?" said Armando as he lifted the item out of the box to revel one of the worlds most powerful orbs in the world, the orb of generation. Albus stared at the object with awe, watching the colours change and become brighter. He had of course read about it, but had never known that Wizard kind had found it; it was such a powerful object that he found himself drawn dangerously to it.

Armando watched as he saw if friend, colleague and pupil stare at the orb." What do you know of this Albus?" asked Armando as he placed it back in the box and placed it back into its home.

"I know that it is one of the most powerful magical objects that Merlin himself created over 200,000 years ago, it can only stay with one Wizard for about 40 years, any longer than that they would become 17 again. This is because from this age, Wizards are at their most powerful, physically, mentally, and magically. It will from then, after every month make you ill until you either give it to another or die. However, when you are 17, according to legend, you still have your memories from your adult life, but no one knows much of what happens to you after that, and if this gets into the wrong hands it could become the most deadly orb to all that exists". Said Albus still looking at Armando with curiosity. "I did not know that the orb of generation was found"!

"My grandfather found it when I was 12 years old, he then passed it on to my father who then passed it on to me, we never told anyone because of the amount of problems it could cause, although sometimes I was tempted to tell, I'm glad I didn't otherwise Grindelwald might have tried for it" Armando smiled once again at Albus, and then immediately grimaced in pain. Grasping his left shoulder as if he had a wound their not yet healed. Seeing this, Albus asked with worry, "How long have you had this orb Armando?"

Armando looked up and saw concern in the other mans eyes, "almost 40 years, you start to feel the pain that it causes on you in the last year, which indicates that you have had it for too long, but you cannot give it to just anyone, you must make sure that the next owner is powerful enough to withstand the temptation that is puts upon you, also the person that you give it too must accept it otherwise you cannot take the power that it holds upon you off of yourself". After the pain had subsided on his left shoulder, Armando turned fully to look at Albus, "Albus I want you to have this, you are the most powerful and the most good-hearted man that I know, it needs to be safe from dangerous Wizards, and I don't think that even Gringotts could be safer than you"

Albus could see the dangers of not taking it, not only for his friend if he kept it any longer but also for those in the Wizarding World if it ever got in the wrong hands.

Nodding his head Albus accepts the orb, "Ok then, I will take the Orb"

Armando nodded and smiled, "Thank you Albus, I will sleep easier now that I know you will possess it, now I must bid you good day my old friend, an old man such as myself needs to rest" Albus stood up from his seating position and Armando picked up his bag and both he and Albus made their way to the school gates.

Once their Albus moved to Armando and shook his hand and gave him a quick hug. "Thank you Armando, I promise that I will protect the orb as much as I would protect Hogwarts

Smiling up at Albus, he knew that his friends promise would stay. "I know you will Albus, I know you will". Said Armando as he walked though the gates and apparated away.


	2. 40 years on

40 years later…….

"Professor, are you ok?". All Dumbledore could see through his pain-filled eyes was a blurry Harry at his side. The look on the boys face touched him, but there was no time for it now. Putting all his effort into staying on his feet, he looks straight at Harry. "Harry, you must go and find Professor Snape right now, tell him to come to the astronomy tower here, there is something very important that he must do". Dumbledore knew that he didn't have long left, it had been 40 years, almost to the minute since he took the Orb of generation from Armando Dippit and he still had to give it to Severus. It was imperative that the Orb remain in safe hands.

(03.46)

Harry looked like he wanted to retort, but he held it back. Dumbledore watched as Harry ran towards the doors, but something didn't feel quiet right. "Harry!". Suddenly the doors burst open and out came Draco. Dumbledore barely had time to get Harry out the way before being disarmed. Dumbledore watched as Draco walked towards him, apprehension etched all over his young face. "Good afternoon Mister Malfoy".

Draco glared at him before looking around and checking the rest of the tower. "Who's here with you?", he asked cautiously. "I might ask you the same question, are you here on your own, you seem rather unsupported right now". Watching as the young man approached him, Dumbledore noticed that the boy was shaking. "I have support, there all downstairs at the moment, fighting some of your lot, they'll be here in a minute, I came on ahead to do what must be done". Dumbledore smiled down at Draco, "Well then, you must get on with it then, my dear boy".

(02.32)

A few moments passed and nothing happened. Dumbledore watched as Draco became more and more worried by the minute, it was clear that he wasn't ready for the mission Voldemort had given him. "You are not a killer Draco, you don't have to do this you know, we can protect you, and your family". The boy shook his head, "No you can't, you don't understand, he will kill my family, I have to do this, I can do this, you don't know what I've done, what I'm capable of".

"Oh yes I do, I know that you almost killed Katie Bell and Ronald Weasley, and that you have tried to kill me all year, rather feebly I might add, it makes me wonder whether your hearts In this at all, Or perhaps, your failure here is because you're afraid to do this". "I'm not afraid", Shouted Draco, lifting his wand slightly, aiming for Dumbledore's heart as if to prove this point. " You are afraid", said Dumbledore gently. He looked completely unconcerned of the wand pointing directly at his heart, "if you were not afraid you would already have killed me by now". Draco said nothing for a moment, he simply continued to stare at Dumbledore, finally he said, "I have to do this, I've come so far, I smuggled the death eaters in right under your nose, there here now in the castle, and they will be here soon, they're expecting me to do this, what's wrong with you?".

(01.34)

Draco watched confused as Dumbledore staggered up against a pillar, eyes closed, face contorted with pain. It lasted only for a few moments. Dumbledore blinked a few times, before turning to look at Draco once again. "What's wrong with you?", asked Draco again. Dumbledore smiled weakly at him, "Oh only the effects of being an old wizard, muscle cramps you know". It was clear to Dumbledore that this was actually the effects of the Orb itself, another reminder that the 40 years were almost up, he had to hurry.

"May I ask you Draco, did you see Professor Snape at all on your way up here?". By the look on the young mans face, he could tell that he had confused him. It looked like he was just about to reply when the doors burst open again, and out came a couple of black robed figures. "Hey Draco, nice one, you've got Dumbledore alone and unarmed, well done". Dumbledore inwardly sighed as he saw the death eaters march towards them, it was too late now, there was no way of getting to Severus now with them here.

(01.00)

"Good evening Amycus", he said, "how very nice to see you, and your sister I see". The woman snarled at him. "Think your funny don't you Dumbly, will you won't be making any jokes once your dead will you".

"Jokes?, no these are manners", replied Dumbledore. "Shut up old man, come on Draco, finish him off now, while you still can". Dumbledore watched as the young man started to pale. The look on his face showed that the boy was clearly terrified. "come on Draco, do it now, while you still have your chance". Draco lifted his wand arm once again at Dumbledore, however he was shaking so badly he could barely take aim. "Draco do it or move out for the way so one of us -". Right at that moment, the doors opened once again and there stood Snape, he locked eyes with Dumbledore and moved into the open. "Severus, the boy isn't doing it".

(00.20)

"Severus", Dumbledore was glad to see that Severus had arrived. "Severus please". Albus watched as Severus pushed Draco out of the way and marched up to him. It was too risky to tell him about the Orb now, it was too late, time was about to run out. He watched as Severus lifted his wand and took aim. Hatred was etched in every line of his face.

(00.01)

"Avada Kedavra".

(00.00).

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


	3. Older than you look

Orb of Generation, chapter 3

Older than you look.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Albus was sure that he was dead. He had felt the impact of the killing curse hit him with such a force that he was thrown of the Astronomy tower, and fell to his death. But this was strange, he was still breathing. He could hear the sounds of frightened screams and the distant echo of spells being repelled and cast time and time again. _What's going on?, _he thought. He opened his eyes and stared around him. He was lying on his back just off to the side of the entrance to the school.

He could see people running in and out of the open double doors. Some of the younger students were huddled together behind one of the doors, crying. Feeling a sense of determination, Albus straightened his glasses and got to his feet. Once standing he noticed something odd. He felt, shorter than normal. He looked down at himself and was surprised to notice that the robe he wore was too long in the leg. They were usually a perfect fit. Hearing the cries of the young students again, he decided to put this difference out of his mind for now. Casting a shortening spell on his robes so they fit him again, he ran towards the students. "Its ok, calm down, I'm going to get you to safety". The sound of his own voice startled him. He sounded much younger than normal. This was most unusual. What has happened to me?

_Oh Merlin_, he thought, _It can't be that_.

He looked over the students and noticed, to his relief that none of them were injured. BANG! The sound of running could be heard just inside the doorway. "REDUCTO", screamed someone just inside the door. Albus turned to look around the door but didn't need to. "Blocked again Potter", yelled Severus as he ran past Dumbledore, completely oblivious to the small audience behind the door. "You need to close your mind if your going to attack me Potter". Albus stood in complete shock as he watched Harry run out after Snape, "You killed him, you coward". Albus stood starring after Harry for a few moments until the sound of crying caught his attention. Turning back to the young students, he decided what he was going to do.

Taking out an old quill from his pocket, he ran his hand over it, muttering under his breath. The item flashed brightly for a few seconds before going back to normal. "Ok, now you must listen to me, this is a Portkey, it will take you to my brothers place in Hogsmeades, his name is Alberforth, once you get to him, tell him that Albus has sent you to him until the fight here is over, ok". All of the students nodded, each looking much calmer than they were before. "ok, now, all of you grab hold of this, that's right…ok, one, two, ……three". All the kids suddenly span, and disappeared out of sight.

As soon as they were out of sight, Albus dashed into the castle to see what else was going on. Everywhere he looked, he could see students running around, youngsters crying, there were quite a few causalities that he could see too, some had clearly been bitten by Greyback. This turned his stomach. They will have to deal with the monthly change forever now, he thought sadly. Forcing his way past some frightened students, Albus trotted towards the hospital wing. For some reason he felt sure that he would find Minerva or another member of the order that he could talk to, and at the very least learn the extent of the damage done. It didn't take long for him to get there.

When he got there he found that it was full of people, all the right ones. Albus paused outside the door and listened. " Look it doesn't matter, I still want to marry you", yelled Fleur at Bill who Albus could see through the gap in the door was laid up in bed with claw marks running down his face. He could see all the Weasley family standing around looking worried, Minerva, Remus, Tonks, and Mrs Granger. " I am beautiful enough for both of us" said Fleur. Albus was distracted by the sound of footsteps coming towards him. Jumping behind a pillar, he watched as Harry walked straight past him and into the hospital wing, looking rather dejected.

"Look it doesn't matter anyway", said Minerva, "Dumbledore will be back soon, he might know of some spells that might help with covering up those scars".

"He's dead", said Harry almost inaudible. Albus watched as everyone turned towards Harry.

"What was that Harry?", asked Remus. Albus could see that Harry had his head down. A deep feeling of pity and remorse filled his heart as he heard Harry speak. "Dumbledore, he's dead, Snape killed him, I saw it, on the astronomy tower". The impact of this news was instant. Minerva grasped her chest with one hand and collapsed onto a nearby chair, Remus covered his face with his hands, Tonks, Mrs Weasley and Hermione all gasped before covering their mouths, Bill, Fleur and Poppy all looked panic stricken, and Albus couldn't breathe. He couldn't move. It was like the world had fallen away.

Shock had took over. So it's true. I am meant to be dead. But why am I still alive? Why am I young again? Could this really be happening? Or is this a dream? By the time he stopped asking himself these questions, he found that he had left the corridor outside the hospital wing and had walked straight back to his office. All the portraits were either sleeping on had gone to their other frames. Albus appreciated this.

Walking around the small space, he considered what had happened. Ok, so my hand is no longer black and burnt-looking, I'm alive and I am for some reason young. Severus is still alive, he cast the killing curse so that unbreakable vow has lifted. What else? There must be something else that's missing here. Absent-mindedly, he began to scan over the portraits.

His eyes rested on Armando Dippit's portrait, it was empty. "That's it!". Rushing around his deck, with the unfamiliar speed of youth, Albus moved into his living space, and walked up to the only portrait he had of his family. "Family matters," said Albus. Slowly, the portrait moved aside and revealed a well cut hole in the wall. Resting under a shining pink glow was a wonderfully polished mahogany box. Muttering a spell under his breathe, the protective pink glow disappeared. Picking the box up, he opened it to reveal the Orb.

_This is it_, he thought. _This is the reason why I'm not dead, why I'm young again_. - _the 40 years are up. _Of course, it all made sense now. _The orb counter-acted the killing curse, - which is why the vow is broken, why I'm alive and why I'm no longer dying. _

Looking down at the orb, Albus noticed that it had a strange shine to it, which he recalled was not there before. _Strange, he thought. Realising that he could not stay there anymore, considering how he looked now, Albus, closed the box up again, and shrunk the box until it fit into his pocket. He could not allow anyone to know what had happened either, it was too dangerous, for them and himself. He would have to work on his own. _

_Moving towards the balcony, he gazed up at the now fading dark-mark, and began to plan out what he was going to do next. _


	4. Commemoration to a Great Man

Orb of Generation – Commemoration of respect

Albus knew that he didn't have much time to sort things out. According to the legend of the Orb, he had about a year to pass it onto someone else or he would truly be gone. As each day passed, Albus would slowly become more and more like his 17 year old self, mentally and emotionally.

At this moment, Albus was pacing back and forth deep down in the third floor corridor, in front of the mirror of Erised (where he had been hiding) thinking. It had been two days since he fell of the Astronomy tower and became, once again a 17 year old. Over the last two days, Albus had peaked out from time to time, invisible to others, watching as they hunted endlessly for his body, or for some trace of what had happened to him.

He watched as the ministry officials came and badgered his staff as to what happened to him. "Why isn't Dumbledore here? What do you mean you can't find him, where is he? Albus felt sorry for them. Over and over they were questioned about the attack, and what actually happened up on the tower. They had rounded on Harry many times as well, disbelieving his story at every turn. "If he is dead, then why is there no body Potter? Snape killed Dumbledore that's preposterous? Poor Harry, he would have to watch over him very closely from now on as Voldemort would have heard that he was dead. The wounded from the battle had all been healed thankfully, no one died this time. His staff members and the Order members did brilliantly in making sure that the young students were out of harm's way. He was very grateful to them. He could not bear the thought of his students unprotected. Albus had also watched as his brother came to the school, returning the frightened first years Albus had sent to the Hogs Head. "What do you mean my brother has disappeared, where is he? What's this talk about him being dead? Well, is he, or isn't he? What do you mean you don't know?

Because nobody knew what had happened to him, they couldn't decide whether a funeral should be conducted or not. Finally, everybody had decided on an unofficial commemoration ceremony, commemorating all that he had done for the school and the Wizarding world. It took place inside the great hall. Every student and Professor was in attendance, as well as members of the Order and people from the ministry, such as the Minister himself, Umbridge and Rita Skeeta. The ceremony began with the Minister, who expressed his deepest regret for not providing the support and protection of the Ministry officials during the night of the battle here at Hogwarts and making a promise to help rebuild Hogwarts and help to protect it from "this day forth". It was quite evident from this statement that he merely wanted Rita Skeeta to write this up for the next daily prophet addition to make him look good. Next to speak was his old friend, Elphias Doge.

"Albus Dumbledore has never been proud or vain; one of his many gifts is that he could find something to value in everyone he met. He has always been a caring and brave man, who by all accounts has been seen as the most inspiring and the best loved of all of Hogwarts headmasters. He lived working towards a better future, for the greater good, right from when he was a young boy and he has always been willing to help those less fortunate than him. So let us hope that this great man who has always both a friend and a mentor to us all will return to us, alive and well soon, thank you", he finished, wiping a tear from his eye. Wonderful Elphias, Albus thought feeling touched, he had always been one of the most grateful and most sensitive people he had ever known.

There was respectful applause from everyone in the hall. He could see his brother, Minerva, Harry Ron and Hermione all clapping the longest for him. Next to speak was Minerva, who spoke briskly, giving notices and words of advice. "These last few days have been riddled with chaos, and confusion. These dark times are likely to become more difficult as we move into the next few months. Professor Dumbledore's whereabouts are for the moment unknown; however until such a time when we know exactly what happened to him, I will be taking on my headmistress duties and his until further notice. For now, I hope you all have a pleasant and safe summer vacation, be careful and take care all of you, dismissed".

Everyone clapped respectfully by the end of these speeches. All the students began to shuffle in their seats, grabbing their things, getting ready to leave. Albus, not wanting to be in the way when the students moved towards the exit where he stood, was just preparing to return to the third floor corridor when Harry Potter suddenly stood up and walked towards the front of the hall. Surprised, Albus remained where he stood, watching as Harry waited for everyone to notice him. It didn't take long before everyone in the Hall had noticed him to and had stopped moving and fell silent in anticipation. Albus watched, waiting as Harry awkwardly stood for a moment, before beginning.

"Professor Dumbledore and I were on the Astronomy tower that night; we had just returned from a trip and came back when we saw the Dark Mark. We flew back using brooms and we landed on the tower, but something was wrong with Dumbledore. He was hurt, weak. He could barely stand, he was so hurt". (Pause) "I tried to help him stand but he told me to go and find Snape instead. I went to go and get him, but before I got to the door, I was pushed back against the wall and suddenly people were there... Death Eaters". Gasps filled the hall as students began to whisper amongst themselves, leaving the adults looking grim and horrified. "Dumbledore had frozen me up against the wall so that I couldn't move...I watched as Death Eaters surrounded him, begin to taunting him. I wanted to help him. To fight back, to help him and defend him but I couldn't" he said, his voice cracking. Harry lowered his head for a moment as he paused. Everybody stayed silent as they watched him try to gain control over his emotions. Others seemed to be having the same trouble with their emotions too. When Harry looked up again, Albus could see the tears in his eyes.

"And then Snape came... I watched Snape kill him and as his body fell from the tower". Again he paused, a single tear running down his cheek. When he spoke next, his voice was strong and determined.

"I know we can't find his body... and I know no one here wants to believe he is dead, but I saw him fall. I saw Snape cast the curse...I hope that I'm wrong, that somehow it missed him and that somewhere he is ok... but until I find out what happened to him I'm not going to stop. I'm going to keep fighting; he would have wanted us to keep fighting". There were a lot of nods of approval from all around the hall. Some of the professors and students were wiping tears from their eyes as well. However it was clear to Albus as he watched that they all agreed with Harry. Harry stood awkwardly for a moment longer before raising his wand high in front of him, "To Dumbledore", he said. Albus stood stunned as he watched. Hermione and Ron were next to stand, followed by Minerva and others, each holding out their wands. Gradually, one by one, Albus watched as each professor, adult and student stood up, raised their wands and repeated the words, "To Dumbledore".

Albus could not stop the tears from running down his face. He felt overwhelmed by the love and respect that was shown towards him from Harry and indeed everyone in the Hall. His tears freely cascaded down his cheeks like little streams. He wished he could show himself, to let them know that he was still alive and how much it meant to him to see this, but he knew he couldn't. He mustn't, it was too dangerous right now. He had to keep hidden for now. It would give their side an advantage. He could continue, unhinged in his hunt for the Horcruxes left over. There was the goblet, the snake, something of Gryffindors or Ravenclaws, and the real locket that was once in the cave. He would have to go looking for the real locket now, but he had no clue as to who took it. He would have to take the fake locket from Harry and see if there were any clues and then...What's that? Albus was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts by the sight of her as she turned around. He couldn't believe his eyes. Was it possible? She had it, sitting right there, she was wearing it, the other one. Excitement cursed through him as he knew what he had to do next.

About 10 feet away from him sat Delores Umbridge, madam under secretary to the Minister of Magic, wearing her customary pink skirt and jumper, and the locket of Salazar Slytherin, the real Horcrux.

More will come soon...

Please please review on these chapters.

thank you


	5. Failed attempt

After 2 weeks of being hidden at Hogwarts, Albus decided that it was time for him to leave. He had stayed in Hogwarts long enough to learn what was to happen to the school and its students, and he felt very satisfied with the plans. During this time he had also been to 12 Grimmauld place and listened in on the Orders plan to move Harry from his aunt and uncles house. Considering what he overheard, Alastor intended to take Harry via side-long apparition, however Albus knew that it wouldn't work. He suspected that the Ministry had been infiltrated by death eaters and therefore, any transport method controlled by the ministry used to move Harry from Privet Drive was extremely insecure and dangerous.

Albus had been thinking of a different method of moving Harry while he stayed hidden inside the castle, and finally came up with a plan as to how they could extract Harry without Ministry connection. He had also concluded how he was going to inform his old friend Alastor of this new plan without revealing himself to be alive. He still felt it important not to let people know that he was still alive. It was better that he could work for their side undetected and not have his movement followed or questioned as they were when before. However, Albus knew that if he was going to receive essential information he needed about Voldemort, he would have to inform one person in particular that he was still alive. Sitting down at a newly transfigured desk, Albus began to write a letter.

Dear Severus

No doubt you will be surprised to receive this letter from me. I expect that you believed that you had killed me; however I'm thankful that for now, I am still alive. Severus, I am truly grateful for all that you have done for me, and I know that the last task i requested of you was more than i should have asked of you, but i am grateful. However, i must ask you now please to not divulge my continued existence to anyone. I feel it would be safer for you and for me to keep this to our own. I cannot for the time being reveal to you where i am, however I am, as always, in need of your services. I have heard that the Order intends to move Harry from Privet drive on the Saturday after next, via side-long apparition. This i doubt would be a very secure or affective way of moving Harry considering that i fear the ministry has been infiltrated, so i ask you to perform the confundus charm on our friend Mundungus Fletcher and have him propose the alternative solution of several others using the Polyjuice potion to become decoy Harrys, with a member of the Order escorting each "Harry" to a different "safe house" via brooms. This i feel would prevent the likelihood of Harry being apprehended that night as Voldemort would not know which Harry is the real one. I intend to implant a false trail concerning when Harry is being moved so that you can inform Voldemort yourself on the correct date and time of the removal. This would allow you to become even closer to him and find out what else he has planned. However, do not speak a word about the decoy "Harry" plan to anyone, this must be kept secret. Severus, there will be times during the year that i will need to ask you to do more things for me. Therefore i need you to be in a position where i can contact you without any difficulties or concerns of being intercepted. I will contact you when I know that you are in a secure location.

Take care of yourself Severus,

You're Servant, AD

Albus sealed the letter, and attached it to the owl's leg. "Please take this to Severus Snape, wherever he may be but please, make sure that he is on his own so he does not get intercepted ok". The owl fluffed its feathers in response before flying off. He had thought it best to use an owl instead of fawkes seeing as an owl would be less distinctive therefore anyone who saw it would not know who it was delivering for. Albus watched the owl until it was out of eye sight. Taking out his pocket watch, he gazed intently at the several hands moving round the clock. He must get a move on if he was going to be there on time, best not draw any more attention to himself whilst there than necessary.

* * *

Albus arrived at the ministry of magic precisely when he meant to. He had decided for the best purposes that he should manoeuvre around the ministry invisible. This would enable him to avoid any unwanted attention; after all, a seventeen year old wizard would look rather out of place here.

Albus had suspected that ministry security would have tightened and alterations to laws would have taken place, but he did not expect the dramatic change in which he saw before him. The beautiful golden statues in the middle of the ministry hall were now replaced by a large grey statue depicting the repression of Muggles "in their rightful place" under magical rulers. Horror filled him inside, unable to believe that this was now the symbol of the Wizarding world. It reminded him uncomfortably of his conversations with Gellert Grindelwald all those many years ago, and of how, he was ashamed to say it, he thought when he discussed improving the magical world for the "greater good". Looking around more, he noticed piles and piles of what looked like printed sheets. Carefully moving forward so as not to bump into anyone, Albus saw the words "Undesirable No1" written underneath a picture of Harry he knew was taken last year after the battle in which he lost his Godfather. Albus also noticed a pile of the most recent edition of the Daily Prophet, entitled "_Wanted for Questioning about the death of Albus Dumbledore"_. The sight of this angered and troubled Albus, yet he couldn't help but think bitterly at how clever it was. This was obviously Tom's attempt at turning everyone within the Wizarding world against Harry, leaving him unprotected and alone.

Pulling himself away from the disturbing images in the main hall, Albus moved cautiously through the ministry workers towards the lifts. He knew exactly where Delores Umbridge's office was, as he had been around the ministry many times before. He felt sure that she would be there at this precise time seeing as he had noticed while she was on staff at Hogwarts that it was at this time when she always had her tea and biscuit break. Albus waited for the lift on the far right to come back down. He was aware that it was the least used lift in the ministry because it was out of eye sight, unlike the others. Once it arrived, Albus hurried into it and hoped that no one would get in with him. To his dismay however, Dawlish entered just before the gates closed shut. As the lift began to ascend, an idea struck him. "Confundus", he said. Noticing the immediate signs that his spell had worked, Albus moved closer to him. "Dawlish, i would like you to let slip to a known death eater that Harry Potter will be moved from his home on the thirtieth, the night before he turns seventeen. You have heard this from a member of the Order, do you understand Dawlish?" The man before him nodded. _Good_, thought Albus, _the false trail is now set_, Severus would now be able to get closer to Voldemort once he has told him the correct date. The lift bumped to a halt for the first floor of the ministry, where he knew Delores would be. Moving carefully around Dawlish, he watched as the gates closed again and the lift move off to the next level.

Once the lift had gone, Albus turned back around and began to walk down the first floor corridor. He had been here many times visiting the minister whose office was only a few more doors down from Delores, and normally, the corridor was packed with ministry personnel, so it was strange and suspicious to Albus when he noticed how deserted it was. Remaining invisible regardless, Albus moved forward towards Umbridge's office door and paused. _It's too quiet_, he thought, _something not right. _

Moving away for a moment, Albus moved a little further down the corridor so that he could see the minister's office. Alarm shot through him as he noticed several known "ex" death eaters standing directly outside the closed office door. Before Albus could make a decision on how to act next, he heard the distinct voice of Scrimgeour loudly declaring, "Kill me if you must, but I will never tell you where Harry Potter is". The sound of a loud bang suddenly erupted, sending the death eater inside straight through the closed office door and into the corridor before him. "Avada Kedavra", cursed the death eater towards the minister still in his office. Albus knew the curse had hit because he heard the heavy thump only a body could make. The murderer got to his feet looking thunderous, "Come on lets go, Potter's bound to be at one of the Order's houses, try the burrow and Tonks's home, search everywhere, the dark lord wants him now, use any means necessary, FIND HIM!".

Albus felt suddenly very alert as to what was going to happen next. Abandoning his search for the locket, he darted back down the hall towards the lifts, making the gates shut behind him and the lift descend to the main hall before any death eater could get anywhere near it. He had to get there before they did. Harry and the others were at the burrow, he knew, he had to alert them. He thought briefly about sending his patronus, but discarded the idea quickly, understanding that it was too distinct to be used amongst those that knew what it looked like. The gates opened as it arrived at the main hall. Albus rushed through at a speed he had not been used to for over 70 years, towards the fire gates. Not caring if he touched anyone on the way, he darted towards the first one. As he got close, an idea stuck him. Pausing just before the first gate, Albus turned his wand at all the others in the hall and with a quick flick, shut them all down. Ministry personnel began to freak, not sure what was going on. Albus looked over his shoulder and saw as the death eaters began tumbling out of the lifts. With a quick flick upwards, Albus jammed the telephone box routes in and out of the ministry as well. "_There_, he thought as he jumped into the only one still working for the moment, "_that should delay them_".

* * *

Hermione was enjoying herself immensely, dancing away with Ron, enjoying the music and the feeling of being, for the moment, happy with her friends and people she considered family. The wedding was a tremendous success, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. The song stopped and Ron let go of her hand. "I'll just go and get us some butter beer ok", he said. She nodded and watched as he went off. Hermione turned to see where Harry was. She noticed him in the far corner sitting with two of the older guests. Deciding not to just stand there waiting for Ron, she made her way through the crowd towards where Harry sat. "I can't dance anymore", said Hermione sliding into the seat next to Harry. "Ron's gone looking for some butter beers. It's odd, I've just seen Victor storming away from Luna's father, it looks like they were arguing-Harry are you alright?"

Before he was able to respond to her however, she heard a mighty cracking sound before them. Hermione like everyone else, stopped to see where the noise had come from. There in the middle of the dance floor stood a boy about the same age as her with slightly long auburn hair and extreme bright blue eyes. She could tell that he was not one of the guests as he wasn't wearing dress robes. Instead, he was wearing a fancy purple and silver robe which was covering blue jeans and a pink shirt. Looking at him intently, she felt sure that she had never seen him around Hogwarts. He was a rather good-looking boy and if he was at Hogwarts, one of the other girls would have mentioned him to her during their girlie discussions up in the dormitory.

Looking at him now along with everyone else, he appeared alarmed and fearful. She watched as he stared around the tented area as if he was looking for someone. "Stop what you are doing everyone", he said still looking around, "you must hurry, the minister has fallen, Death Eaters are on their way" his gaze moved in her direction, catching sight of Harry and then her, his electric blue eyes seemed to lock with hers intently, pausing her breath "prepare yourselves". At that moment, it felt that he was speaking those words directly at her, but before she could ponder that thought more, panic had broken out as death eaters apparated into the wedding tent surrounding them.

* * *

**Thank you to all who read my story, if you like it please review it. **


	6. Escape and Recognition

Escape and recognition

"Come on, move MOVE, get out now". Albus watched, fearful as he saw everybody scatter in all directions looking for a way out from the wedding tent. Death eaters were apparating into the tent attacking the guests. Thankfully, there were enough of the order members there to keep up with them. Albus looked over towards Harry and Hermione; they were still on the other side of the tent, holding each other tightly. "RON!" he could here Hermione yell.

Albus looked frantically around for Ron too, but before he could move, a spell flew right by his ear and almost hit him. Turning towards the death eater, he hit him with a spell, before looking around again for Ron. He found Ron on the other end of the tent, battling against two death eaters which had a hold of him. Albus turned and shot a spell at one of the death eaters, hitting him squarely in the chest. "RON", he heard Hermione scream. Albus moved forwards, shooting another spell, hitting the second one, allowing Ron to be free. "Come on Ron", said Albus leading him as quickly as he could towards Harry and Hermione.

Ron followed him without question, barely noticing who he was following. It took less than a minute to reunite the three of them on the other side. "You three must go, now, don't wait", said Albus pulling the three of them out of the tent. Hermione looked back at him bewildered, "Wait, what about everyone else, we can't just leave them" argued Harry, "Yeah, that's my family back in there" said Ron. Albus shot another spell at a close death eater, "Look there's no time, I will make sure there save, Harry it's you thereafter, you must go now".

Hermione continued to stare at him. "But wait, who are...", before she could finish her question, Harry made a move forwards into the tent again. Looking back inside, Albus noticed that Ginny was cornered behind one of the upturned tables. "Ginny!" Harry made a move towards her, leaving behind Ron and Hermione. Albus grasped his arm, pulling him back "No Harry, you three must go", NOW". Albus looked at each of them in turn finishing with Hermione before turning around and running back into the tent to help the others. The three of them watched him for a moment before Hermione grabbed the pair of them and dis-apparated.

* * *

Albus watched as Harry, Ron and Hermione disapparated, turning around, he fought his way back through the crowd. Weasley family guests were running around screaming, hiding or rapidly disapparating away. Albus jumped into action, pulling the death eaters from the guests still within the tent, Albus rapidly took over the fight, securing the death eaters away from those unable to defend themselves. The older guests were running around trying to protect the younger generation, one older woman was hitting a death eater around the head with her handbag, knocking him off balance while an old man smashed a bottle of wine around another's head to get them away from a screaming young boy. Ginny was still battling the death eaters from the corner that she was trapped in.

Jumping over an upturned table, Albus shot 3 stunning spells, which hit each of the three death eaters surrounding her. Each fell to the ground, allowing Ginny to look up over the table. He rushed over to her and helped her up over the upturned furniture. "Are you ok, Miss Weasley? She looked at his startled, "Yes I'm fine", she said surprised he knew who she was. She was about to ask who he was when someone else began to shout aloud, "RETREAT, RETREAT, NOW". Turning Albus saw that more and more death eaters were suddenly deciding to disapparate away from the wedding. It seemed that they had finally managed to get the upper hand. The death eaters that still remained were gradually being taken out by members of the order. In no time at all, the situation was under control, Albus looked around and felt grateful that everyone seemed to be alright. He could see Molly and Arthur checking on their family members, making sure they were alright, while the order members present began to usher everyone towards the Weasley house.

For a moment he was thankful they were all busy since he didn't want to be noticed by anyone, until he saw Kingsley looking at him. Albus nodded to him, hoping he wouldn't come closer and would accept that as a understanding gesture between two defensive parties. Unfortunately Kingsley began to make his move across the tent. He had only managed to take two steps towards him, when he was made to pause by an old man.

Albus's heart jumped in his chest in a moment of panic, he knew that old man, and he couldn't allow him to see him. Albus made a move towards the exit on the other side of the tent, out in the open he moved around the side. Feeling sure he had not been spotted and that everything was alright, Albus apparated away before anyone could ask who he was, or have a chance to recognise him.

Back in the tent, the old man standing next to Kingsley looked out of the exit ahead of him in amazement, an expression of shocked recognition all over his face.

* * *

Hermione's point of view

Harry, Ron and Hermione all materialised in the middle of Shaftsbury Avenue, looking startled. "Come on, let's move", said Hermione as she led them off the road and onto the path. She was walking fast with Ron and Harry tailing close behind her.

"Who was that young man? Asked Harry stopping, "I mean, how did he know who we were? Hermione stopped and looked at him for a moment, "I don't know", she replied looking thoughtful. She turned and continued on. "But he looked familiar, didn't he? I mean, not his face exactly, but...something". Hermione couldn't figure it out, something about his eyes looked familiar. Where have I seen those bright blue eyes before? Unable to figure it out, she decided to concern herself with where they were.

"We have to get off the streets, get somewhere safe, let's change out of these clothes and find a cafe or something". Ron and Harry nodded.

Hermione led them down the first alleyway she came to and began to pull clothes out of her bag. "Here change into these quickly", she said extracting enough clothing for both the boys before transfiguring her own clothes to a pair of jeans, white t-shirt and a blue cardigan. 5 minutes later the three of them were sitting in a deserted cafe with a cup of coffee in front each of them.

"Do you think they're ok? Those at the wedding I mean", asked Ron looking worriedly between them. "Don't know mate... do you think we should go back?", asked Harry.

"No", said Hermione, "the death eaters are after you Harry, going back would only put them all in more danger". "After a moment, Harry nodded, "Yeah, You're right I guess". Silence erupted between them for a few minutes, each with their own thoughts. Harry couldn't stop thinking about whether Ginny and the rest of them was ok, Ron was wondering where they were going to go next, and whether his family was ok, and Hermione couldn't stop thinking about the strange young man that suddenly materialised and helped them. How did he know who we were? Was he a student at Hogwarts? If so, how come she'd never seen him before? Hermione began picturing him again; his long auburn hair was soft and blew with the wind, not against it, and his eyes, blue and so bright. She was sure she had seen those eyes before, but for some reason could not place where.

"So where do we go from here? Leaky Cauldron? Asked Ron, bringing Hermione out of her thoughts, "No, it's too dangerous, that would be one of the first places they would look".

"Oh I've left all my things back at the burrow", moaned Harry. Hermione shook her head, "No you didn't", she replied looking down at her little bag. Harry followed her gaze surprised. "You're joking". At that moment, two people came into the cafe and walked straight to the counter. Harry couldn't help it; there was something about them that he didn't feel comfortable with. Slowly one of them lifted something out of their pocket, a wand.

"GET DOWN!"

* * *

He could not believe what just happened. Being there while death eaters gate-crashed the Weasley wedding, attacking everyone who had stayed to fight back or defend themselves. He was still in a daze; eyes left wide open, mouth gapping. He barely noticed how everyone was picking up the turned over furniture, helping with those injured, etc. He found himself sitting down in the corner at a table that hadn't been upturned, staring at a spot just outside the tent ahead of where he was. He couldn't believe it, he was standing right there, right there on the other side of the tent.

He couldn't believe it. "Are you alright Elphias? The old man looked up at Kingsley who was starring down at him concerned. "Are you feeling alright?" Elphias nodded slowly, unable to comprehend what he had just seen. It was not possible, how on earth could he have been here? Elphias had barely noticed that everyone had essentially left the tent now, leaving him and a few others clearing up. "Kingsley, who was that young man? Does he work at the ministry?

Asked a shabby looking middle aged man on the other side of the room, Kingsley shook his head. "No I had never seen him before, do you know him Arthur? Elphias watched the small group of adults talking at the other end of the tent.

Arthur was shaking his head, "No I have never seen him either, he looked too young though to be working at the ministry, I thought maybe he was a Hogwarts student, maybe we should ask Fred and George if they recognised him". The other adults nodded and made their way into the Burrow in hope they would find out who the mysterious young man was.

Elphias knew they wouldn't know him. Few people would have recognised him; he was one of the only people who did. Still he couldn't believe it, no more than 3 minutes ago, he saw him, his old friend Albus Dumbledore, looking no older than 17 years of age. How could he be alive? How could he be 17 years old? Elphias knew that whatever was happening, whatever had happened to his old friend, he would do whatever he could to help him, including keeping quiet.

* * *

Sorry for the time it's taken, please review.


	7. Planning the next step

**Planning the next step**

Harry, Ron and Hermione raced away from the cafe as soon as they had fixed the place up to its original state. Unable to believe that they were attacked so early after leaving the Burrow, they had rushed through the darkened streets of London without talking to one another. Hermione in the lead, with the boys in toe, she directed them down the first dark and secluded alleyway she could find. Turning to the boys, Hermione grabbed hold of them, spun and disapparated towards the only place she could think to be safe for them. Arriving just outside 12 Grimmauld place, they found the area to be watched by an unknown death eater. Deciding it best not to arouse attention, Hermione pulled Harry's invisibility cloak from her bag and threw it over all three of them.

Once safely inside each felt that a weight had been lifted. They were safe, for now and could have a chance to work out what they were going to do next. After several days of stealing daily prophet newspapers to keep up to date on the latest news, they finally decided to start discussing the objects Voldemort had used as Horcruxes and where he could have hidden them. "So what do you reckon these Horcruxes are then? Asked Ron for the 15th time that day, "I don't know, according to Dumbledore though, the objects were most likely going to be important to Voldemort, like his diary" answered Hermione. "Don't forget the ring Dumbledore destroyed as well, that was a part of his ancestry", said Harry, he paused before adding. "Dumbledore reckons he had Hufflepuffs Goblet, Slytherin necklace and something from either Ravenclaw or Gryffindor".

Kreacher entered the room at that very moment. He looked at each of them quickly while muttering to himself rather loudly. "There they stand, bold as brass, the mudblood and blood traitors, oh if my poor mistress could see her house now, how she would die of shame". Harry turned around to look at Kreacher, anger clear in his eyes, "Shut up Kreacher". Kreacher looked down and noticed the necklace in Harrys hand. Unable to talk, the house-elf's eyes began to bulge looking at it, choking on his need to speak, Kreacher made a grap for it. "Hey", cried Harry, moving backwards, stop, what are you doing, tell me". Kreacher looked as if he was out of breath. "That belonged to master Regulus, he wanted Kreacher to destroy the other one, but Kreacher couldn't, oh I'm sorry my poor master". Suddenly Kreacher began to try in earnest.

Harry, Ron and Hermione each looked at one another in shock. Was it possible Kreacher knew something about the real locket? "Kreacher, where is the other locket, what happened to it? Asked Hermione, surprisingly for the first time, he answered her. "Mundungus took it from the house, Kreacher tried to stop him, but Kreacher couldn't". Harry suddenly thought of something. "Kreacher, i need you to go and find Mundungus now, it's important we find out what he's done with the locket so that err, we can do what Regulus asked you to do, please go and get him for us". Kreacher looked up at him, and with a sudden pop, disapparated.

Two hours later, Kreacher returned with Mundungus. "Get off me; come on, what is this? come on get him off me". A second later, he realises whose company he is in. Mundungus picks himself up off the floor, "What do you want? It's not my fault Mad-eye fell off his broom". Harry moves towards him, "Shut up, I need to ask you something. When you turned this place over of anything valuable, you came across a locket am I right! What did you do with it?" Mundungus looked at him startled for a moment, "Locket? Was it valuable then, ah, bloody had to give it away didn't I! This Ministry hag said that she was going to throw me in Azkaban because I didn't have a permit to sell the stuff". Pausing he continued, "She took a fancy to the locket, and said that if I gave it to her, she would forget all about my activities".

There was a long moment before anyone said anything; finally it was Ron who broke the silence. "Who was it then? The woman who took the locket, who was she? Mundungus shook his head, "I dun no, never seen her before, she was a strange women, wore a lot of pink for someone her age, short, had an annoying cough". All three of them looked at each other in shock. "Can I go now? Asked Mundungus, Harry could only nod. Moments later, Mundungus had gone, and the three of them knew what needed to be done next.

A week later, each of them was ready to go. Knowing how dangerous the next step was likely to be for them, they decided to take as few risks as possible. "Ok, so let's go over the plan once more, just to be safe", said Hermione, before each turned in to sleep, tomorrow would be a difficult and dangerous one. As Hermione laid down to rest, her thoughts travelled to the young man at the wedding. She wondered where he had come from, and where he was now. As she drifted off to sleep, visions of him came to her, at the wedding, his blue eyes, at Hogwarts, half moon glasses, phoenix flying over them when last on the astronomy tower. The next day, she would be unaware of her dream completely.

* * *

Albus was sure that he had managed to get away from the wedding unidentified. It was a surprise to see Elphias there, even more of a surprise that Elphias hadn't recognised him all the while he was there. He was glad for it though, and glad that everyone was safe, including Harry, Ron and Hermione. He hoped that they would be alright, he felt confident that they would be able to take care of themselves.

Albus had been keeping himself busy for the last few weeks, planning and secretly aiding the order without them knowing. He had been back to the burrow and made sure that everyone was ok, and to make sure that no one knew who he was. It was clear that Elphias hadn't mentioned who he was to anyone if he had recognised him. Not staying in anyplace more than a few days, Albus had been hidden away in a muggle residence, not far away from some ministry official's homes so that he could keep up with the news. Tonight, Albus had snuck into one of these houses while the official ministry workers were out and began to look around for any sign of recent news or activities happening inside the ministry. After a few moments looking around, he noticed several copies of the daily prophet.

Albus picked up the most recent copy of the daily prophet and began to read the front page, he was surprised to find a picture of himself smiling back at him, the headline reading, _Dumbledore Biography now available. _Albus was shocked; he couldn't believe that there was a biography of him out already. "_Stripping away the popular image of serene, silver-bearded wisdom, __Rita Skeeter__ reveals the disturbed childhood, the lawless youth, the lifelong feuds and the guilty secrets Dumbledore carried to his grave. The book entitled 'The life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore' is now available from today at Flourish and Blotts, so be sure to pick up your copy. _

Rita Skeeter, ah, he should have known. If anyone was going to talk trash about him it was her. Looking further through the newspaper, he saw a picture of Hogwarts castle. Looking more closely,

Albus read the caption. _Snape New Headmaster of Hogwarts, _underneath, Albus read on..

_Severus Snape, former potion's master and head of Slytherin house at Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry has been officially appointed the new Headmaster of Hogwarts after the recent, tragic death of Albus Dumbledore. Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall was passed over despite being the most likely candidate for the new position by the New Minister of Magic. A few staff members of Hogwarts have shown their distaste of the new appointed Headmaster, however the Minster of Magic has promised to show his support by appointing two new staff members as disciplinary assistants. _

Albus stopped read at this point, feeling rather pleased. Well done Severus. Albus now knew that Severus had indeed received his letter and had managed to obtain himself a very secure position in which Albus could reach him. Closing up the paper, Albus decided to return to his hide-out. As Albus made to leave, a strong sense of dizziness came over him. Staggering up against the wall, Albus squeezed his eyes shut. Breathing hard and heavily, Albus's mind and heart began to be over-run with memories and the emotions connected to them. His mum and dad, standing together smiling happily down at him in his school robes, his brother and sister sitting together in front of the fire reading the tales of beadle the bard, looking sweetly innocent and beautifully relaxed, Gellert Grindelwald sitting with him by the lake, discussing the Deathly hallows, enticing deep feeling of excitement, ambition and love from Albus. It was all too much. After a few moments, Albus felt strong enough to open his eyes. He found himself on the floor, sagging sideways against the wall. It was over as quickly as it begun, but he felt sick.

Pulling himself off the floor, Albus shakily stood up. His face had become wet with tears he was unaware he had cried. _What in the name of Merlin just happened to me?_ He worried, thinking hard. Carefully, he made his way back to the muggle house he'd been staying in. _This must be the effects on the orb, _he thought. During the forty years he had owned it, he hadn't ever come across any information about what happened once the owner turned 17 again. After a few minutes, he found himself lying down on the bed, resting his head. Feeling emotionally drained, Albus decided that he wouldn't sleep right now, despite wanting to. He couldn't help but feel that the effect he had just experienced was connected to the time he had already spent as a 17 year old, indicating that his time as a seventeen year old had begun to run out.

He had to focus. He still needed to work out a plan to get the locket from Delores. Forcing himself off the bed, Albus sat at the small desk in the corner and began to plan his second attempt at getting the locket, which he decided was going to be tomorrow.


	8. Ministry Mayhem

Trouble at the Ministry

The trio arrived at the ministry in their full disguises. They had entered through the toilet entrances for men and women and were now standing before the disturbing statue of repressed Muggles. Harry was disguised as Albert Runcorn, Ron as Reg Cattermole, and Hermione disguised as Mafalda Hopkirk. Standing together looking at the statue, the trio looked around nervously, each hoping their disguise was good enough. Harry looked at his watch; they had taken the polyjuice potion 11 minutes ago. "How long did you say this batch of Polyjuice potion would last Hermione?" Asked Harry anxiously, Hermione shook her head stiffly, "I didn't". Harry looked at her for a moment. "Right, well I think we should split up and search for Umbridge, if we stick together it will take longer". Ron and Hermione didn't like the idea, but nodded in agreement all the same. Slowly each went their own way, feeling apprehensive, but determined.

* * *

Albus arrived at the ministry. Invisible to the rest of the crowds moving through the main entrance hallway, Albus carefully navigated his way towards the lifts. His plan was simple. This time he was going to go straight to Umbridge office, sneak inside and confund her while she sits behind her desk. Albus would then take the necklace, replace it was a fake and then walk out without any problems. However before he could summon a lift, he overheard someone say her name. "Did you see Reg Cattermole this morning? He looked rather ill", said an Auror Albus knew named Xavier Drew. He was a good Auror, very kind hearted. "Oh course he did, his wife is downstairs with Delores right now being interrogated, poor fellow", replied his companion.

The lift arrived just as the two Aurors moved out of sight. Moving in to the lift, Albus pushed for the lift to go downward, not up. If Umbridge was in the jurors rooms then he would have to try and find a way of extracting the necklace from her there. Getting in to the jury rooms was going to need some planning. He wouldn't be able to just walk in invisible. Magic detectors would be set up carefully around the doorway in order to prevent anyone from being undetected in case they tried to escape whilst invisible. As the lift finally stopped, Albus moved out, knowing exactly what he was going to do.

* * *

Hermione sat next to Umbridge up in the stands, looking incredibly anxious. She did not expect to find herself alone with Umbridge. She really wished that she hadn't started her search for Umbridge on the lower floors. Now she was sitting in a jury room, taking notes for Umbridge, unable to get out of it.

"Alaric, please bring in the next criminal please". Hermione watched as the one named Alaric moved out of the room. It had been terrible for Hermione to sit there whilst Umbridge interrogated innocent muggleborns. Even worse for her was when Umbridge began to rally against them with her as she had to act as if she was agreeing with the horrible new rule over muggleborns. She wasn't looking forward to what would happen when her polyjuice would run out. She could well imagine herself strapped to the chair in the middle of the room, being interrogated and made to suffer like a common criminal.

Before she could worry about things any further, Alaric came back into the room with a young man at his side. The man was wearing a dark purple robe over blue jeans and a light top. He had long auburn hair and was a rather handsome looking man. Recognising him at once, Hermione gasped, it was him. She continued to stare at him, unable to believe he was there. He was looking directly at Umbridge, seemingly calm and in no way worried about where he was at all. She watched as he looked at each jury member individually, finally resting his eyes on her. For a moment, her eyes locked intensely with his. His gaze was powerful, making her feel like he could see right through her disguise, as if he knew who she was. Who was he?

As if to answer her unasked question, Alaric stepped forward, with what looked like official paperwork and a wand "Miss Umbridge, this is Alex Dunrall, a muggleborn healer recently discovered by our good friend Riley Richardson, he's not on the list, he was only discovered 5 hours ago, trying to escape detection through the blood cleansing process St Mungo's has begun to do".

Umbridge took the paperwork and the wand in her hand and studied them carefully for a few moments before lifting her gaze, resting her cold gaze upon him. "Well then Mr Dunrall, it seems that your attempt to escape detection leads me to believe that you did indeed steal this wand, if you confess to this, then your sentence in Azkaban would be more bearable than your other thieving counterparts. Do you deny stealing this wand?" Hermione looked down at him, surprised that he was so calm and even smiling lightly. "No madam under-secretary, I do not deny that i took the wand from another wizard". Hermione couldn't believe it. Why wasn't he defending himself? Did he not realise that by saying that he would never be able to see the light of day again?

She looked towards Umbridge who distastefully had a fake sympathetic look on her face. "Well then Mr Dunrall, I thank you for your honesty, however it will not get you far, with your confession you have left me no choice, Alaric, please summon two dementors that can escort him to Azkaban where he will spend the rest of his life wishing he never entered the Wizarding community".

Hermione gasped with fright as two Dementors glided through the door Alaric just opened and moved towards the defenceless young man. She could not let this happen. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" she cried pointing her wand towards the dementors, chasing them away. Seconds later, she turned her wand at Umbridge, stunning her before she could make a move.

Suddenly spells began to fly past her head, almost hitting her. Ducking down out of sight, Hermione reached over and grabbed the man's wand before ducking again. She had to keep out of line; she couldn't afford being hit with any of the several stunning spells that were most likely being shot her way. She didn't seem to realise through all the commotion, that one by one, all the other ministry officials had mysteriously stopped shooting spells at her.

Hermione thought about the young man, she had no idea where he was in the room, but she hoped he was alright. Where was he? She thought turning to look behind her. As if to answer her question, there he stood, next to her, looking as calm and collected as ever. "It's alright now Hermione, there all stunned it's safe to move". Hermione looked at him shocked for a moment. How did he do it? She looked at the hand holding his wand, and then at his empty hands. How could be stun everyone without his wand? "May I have my wand back please; I feel that I'm going to need it". She raised the wand out to him. Just as he closed his fingers around the wand, a series of red sparks shot past them once again. Yaxley and a few guards had regained themselves and were attacking them with a vengeance.

Without warning, Hermione watched Albus, as if in slow motion, knock out the guards with a single flick of his wand, and with movement of youthful skill and flexibility, saw him jump over the barrier where they stood, take aim and stunned Yaxley, hitting him squarely in the chest. Hermione stood there for a second surprised at what he had managed to do.

Looking down at him, she couldn't believe how anyone could be so calm and accurate at their age. She watched him for a moment, unable to take in everything that had just happened. A second later, he turned and moved quickly towards her. "Time to run now, Hermione take the necklace from Umbridge now, be quick". Hermione came out of her trance, grabbing the necklace, she ran down the steps into the middle of the room where Albus stood. Looking at him in awe, she couldn't believe he was here, saving her again. "Who are you, how do you know my name?" she asked as he made for the exit. He looked back at her, his blue eyes so captivating, pausing her breath once more. "I'm sorry Hermione, now is not the time for questions, we must hurry and get out of here as quickly as we can, please follow me".

They ran through the doors, out into the corridor. There was nobody there. No guards, nor any other muggleborns. They had all gone. They moved quickly towards the one lift, which was coming down. Both paused and looked at each other. "Hermione, anyone could be on the other side of those doors. You need to brace yourself". Grasping her wand more tightly in her hand, Hermione waited, ready with her first spell as the doors began to open. "Hermione", the doors had opened to reveal Harry and Ron, standing there looking themselves again. Relief swept through her as she lowered her wand. "You again, who are you? What the bloody hell is going on?" asked Ron looking directly at the young man. The young man didn't waste much time, he ushered her gently into the lift, making the boys move back into it. Pushing for the doors to close and set off towards the entrance way. "There's no time to talk now, each of you are now back to looking yourselves again. We need to hurry. The ministry is quick with intruder alarms, if we don't get you out of here now, there will be no escape".

* * *

Albus had to hurry. The polyjuice potion had now worn off completely on all three of them, leaving them open to being discovered. He would have to move them as quickly as he could to one of the fire exits. While Albus was planning how he was going to get them out, the others stood looking at him. "Err, excuse me, Alex? Have we met before?" asked Hermione, unable to take her eyes off him. Looking at him closely like this, she was surprised at how handsome he was.

Albus turned to look at them all in turn before resting his eyes on Hermione. He had forgotten his false identity. Looking at her, he could see a look of wonder and eagerness on her face. "No, we don't know each other, he said, and then quickly added, "I know you from the daily prophet, and you three are very famous you know". Before anything more could be said, the lift doors opened as they finally reached the main entrance hallway.

Albus turned to them, "Alright you three stay together and keep your heads down and move subtly towards the fires. No sudden movements". Albus lead then three of them out of the lift, moving gracefully towards the statue. They managed to reach the near side of the statue with no problems, making him feel that they might be ok. "Its Harry Potter, Hey, its Harry Potter, he's here". Albus suddenly felt ice cold. They had been spotted. Looking around, Albus could see ministry workers staring at them muttering and pointing. "It's Harry Potter, quick call the guards". No sooner had those words been spoken did Albus see Yaxley and several guards rush out from the lift they had just come from. "RUN", Yelled Albus, pushing each of them in front of him, putting space between them and Yaxley, before following suit. In a panic, Harry, Ron, Albus and Hermione ran forward and around the statue, bumping into workers as they went.

Hermione, just running next to Albus watched as he shot stunning spells at the guards, hitting many directly, reducing the number chasing them, but she could tell that it wasn't enough. Yaxley had caught up with them and was gaining on them. Looking ahead, she watched to her horror each of the fire grates shut in front of them, each one closing them off from their escape. They were seconds away from the last fire left open. "RUN, GET TO THE FIRE, GO".

Albus could see Yaxley right behind them, being slightly ahead of Hermione he could see that any second now he was going to grab hold of her. Harry and Ron suddenly disappeared through the fire, leaving only Hermione. Yaxley made a grab for Hermione, capturing her arm. "Ahhh", she screamed, panicked as she struggled to move forwards away from him. Albus grabbed Yaxley's arm and wrenched it away from her. "GO", he yelled. She jumped into the fire, turning as she did. For a split second she watched in horror as he struggled with Yaxley, falling towards the still open fire as he did, before she disapparated away with Harry and Ron, feeling horrified that she had left him to his fate.

* * *

Hey guys, thank you for your reviews. Please keep reading my stories. It will be a few weeks till the next chapter now as I am going to Florida to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter for a Holiday, Yay!

Please review kindly. The more reviews I get, the more determined I am to continue a story.

Thank you.


End file.
